11 Tasting Notes

I decided to use my gaiwan for this BMD. It was my first time using one for white tea so I was beyond eager. After boiling my water, I set the kettle down to cool a bit before warming up my gaiwan and cups. There was also no need to rinse this tea.

The first brew was a rather short one, at about a minute. In my opinion it was definitely the best infusion. This Peony had a soft vegetal taste and lingering sweetness. The liqour came a pale green, as it should. It was exquisite to say the least.

For every successive infusion I added about a minute to the steeping time and kept the temp at about 190 F. I was able to get 5 successful brews from this white tea before I knew its time was up.

I looking forward to drinking this tea again, and I will be trying different brewing methods to see which is best for me. Highly recommend this tea, in particularly for the price! Great everyday white tea.

The Shu was rather interesting. It had a very mild duiwei. I usually like my ripe puerhs to have a far stronger aroma, but I thought I’d take a chance with this one.

After the initial wash, I took notice that the leaves gave off quite the pleasant aroma. I was quickly captivated by this puerh. The first brew was a rather light golden brown color and also had a very light earthy flavor, even woodiness to it. The second was a bit bolder of a flavor, still retaining a bit of astringency to it, but not necessarily in a negative way. I found the third brew to be the best. There was just a perfect balance between flavor, color, and aroma. The later infusion were still great, up to about the 6th brew. Then the intensity of flavor began to fade quickly. I maxed out the tea at about 10 steeps.

I actually like this Pu quite a bit, and I will be looking forward to trying it again in a few months.

Preparation

I must admit, I was very excited to try this Puerh, especially when I first unwrapped it. There wasn’t really a strong smell at all but I was not expecting much from the 2007 sheng.

The first brew was, how do I put this lightly…..terrible! Boy was it unbelievably astringent and just bitter. Ok, there was a hint of fruity sweetness to it, but it did not make up for the bitterness that came before and after. After the 4th infusion, the tea became far more palatable. Either that, or my taste buds just conformed to the astringency. 5th brew was definitely the best (and that’s not saying much), but I was only able to get about 8 infusions.

Still, I am sure this pu will age rather well. I’ll give it another shot several months from now.

Delicious! Simply put, this tea has a fruity sweetness that I haven’t tasted in a while. There is a light astringency to it, but not at all bad. Did not get more than 10 brews (last one did steep for about 6 minutes), but the flavor stayed rather consistent until the end.

Also, a very faint woodiness to it that I thoroughly loved. Great tea. Cannot wait to buy more and age them a bit more.

Lovely! This tea was such a delight to drink. Flowery and sweet, delicate and an almost lingering butteriness to it. I really need to get my hands on some more of JK’s Oolongs, especially since this was only a sample :/

Preparation

I must admit, I am not a fan of Teavana. Not at all, but gosh darnit I LOVE this tea. It’s strong and delicate at the same time. Like a 250lb linebacker holding a teddy bear. I recommend this tea to those who do not mind boldly floral flavors.

Preparation

I was able to get about 15 infusions in my gaiwan with this tea. Not going to lie, I probably could’ve done a few more, but I ran out of water (of all things). Has the perfect amount of sweetness and zero astringency. Leaves did not unfurl as much as I’d hoped, but still a lovely flavor and aroma nonetheless. Definitely recommend this to anyone and everyone!